The Hunger Games: What if Katniss Hadn t Vollunteered
by THGvirginia
Summary: "Ladies first," she says. I have butterflies in my stomach. My breathing is becoming rapid. Effie puts her hand in the glass ball. Everyone is silent. She pulls out a slip and waves it in the air, a smile playing on her lips. She goes back over to the podium and smoothes it out. She reads out the name "Primrose Everdeen."
1. The Reaping

The Hunger Games

_What if Katniss hadn´t volunteered? _

_Virginia Ariza_

I am a fan of the books and the movies. Suzanne Collins (the author of the books) always kept me locked into the story. When I finished reading Mockingjay, (the last book of the trilogy) and Prim died, I thought: _Well Katniss went into the games because she didn´t want Prim to die. But she died in the end?! She should have just let her go into the games the first time. _

I understood, after thinking about it, that it wouldn´t have made the story interesting. That maybe, she had died to clarify how broken Katniss really was at the end. After that, I kept thinking: _What if Katniss hadn´t volunteered? What if she just let Prim go into the games? Would she live?_

So I decided to write the story of what (in my opinion) could have happened.

-Virginia Ariza

1

The reaping

Something moves behind me. I turn around. They are there, looking dangerous and strong. They are coming to get me, pointing their knives and arrows at me. A tall, red-headed boy smirks, looking me up and down.

"This should be easy." He says, a smile painted on his face. I try to run, but my legs won´t move fast enough. I trip, and try to get up again. They laugh. One of them lifts his sword, and cuts my thigh. I scream. They laugh. Another throws an arrow through my shoulder. The pain blinds me.

I wake up crying. I am lying on my bed, gasping for air. _It´s not real, not real. _I remind myself. The _pain_ felt real. I touch my shoulder, worried. There´s no wound. I feel my thigh, exactly where the gash should be. Nothing. I notice I´m holding my breath, and let it all out.

I look for Buttercup in the darkness. He gives me comfort. I hug him really tight, get up from bed, and cuddle up with mom, leaving the cat on the ground. I stroke her hair, as blonde as mine. She´s sleeping uncomfortably, as usual.

I wish I could sleep soundly once in a while. There´s always something to keep us awake. Hunger, worry, pain, sadness. Nothing here is perfect. Reapings always keep me awake. It _was_ because I was worried about Katniss, but this year, I could get picked too.

The cat jumps back up, and lies on the pillow, beside my head, to protect me from the darkness.

I found him when he was only a kitten. I was walking home, and he looked sick. I just couldn´t leave him like that, so I brought him home. Katniss didn´t want to keep him. She even tried to drown him once. At last, after begging for a while, I was allowed to keep him. I named him Buttercup, because his fur is the same color as the flower. I helped Mom get rid of all the parasites.

Mom and I take care of people in the Seam. If someone is sick, they come to us. There´s no doctors here, no one can afford that.

Mom´s parents ran the apothecary shop when she was younger, and she helped them for years, learning everything she could. And afterwards, she taught me.

I try to fall asleep, but I know the nightmares are going to come.

I walk over to the old night table where we keep the edible plants book. Whenever I am sad or scared I read it, and look at the beautiful detailed pictures that Katniss and Dad have drawn in it.

I read it because it reminds me of him, all the beautiful flowers and berries he wrote about. Dad has kept us alive in a way, so it gives me some comfort. Katniss is able to find all the plants in the woods. If it´s a good day, she finds many weeds, that I later help mom make into a soup.

I still remember waiting at the sight of the explosion, watching all the other families become relieved when their husbands, brothers or fathers came out, but dad never did. He died in the mine explosion. I still get nightmares about it.

I slowly trace his drawings with my fingers. It makes me feel happy, like he was still alive. Like he was still taking care of me. That feeling is quickly taken away from me when I remember what day it is. Today is the reaping. My _first_ reaping.

I hold Buttercup closer, trying not to think about it. I continue to look through the old pages of the battered book. I find my favorite page. Primroses. I smile at the picture of the flower, my namesake.

´Both flowers and leaves are edible, the flavor ranging between mild lettuce and more bitter salad greens. The leaves can also be used for tea, and the young flowers can be made into primrose wine.´ I smile, reading the page over, and over again, though I have already memorized what it says. His hand writing has always amazed me. The curves and lines always look perfect.

I reach out, and grab a piece of paper from the night table. A photo of him. It upsets me; I can barely remember his face, so mom gave me a photo of him, in his miner´s clothes, standing in front of the entrance of the mines. It was taken the day he died, given the fact that it was Miner´s Day. I stare at it, trying to _remember _him.

Buttercup purrs, and jumps on my lap. I pet his ears absentmindedly. He licks my hand, and starts making a humming sound. He closes his eyes, and lies down happily. His yellow eyes seem to glow in the moonlight. I smile.

He´d scared me once, we were in complete darkness, and I couldn´t sleep. Then, his eyes suddenly opened, a few feet away from my face. I shouted, stunned, making Katniss get up from bed. She held me behind her, in a protective way. I explained what had happened. She ginned. She went back to bed with an: "I never liked that cat."

I carefully fold the picture in half, and put it inside the book. Reading makes me feel tired, so I go and lay down with mom. I make sure to close the book carefully, and putting it back in its place inside the drawer.

I slowly fall asleep, my eyes feeling heavy. The last thing I am conscious of, is Buttercup lying down beside me.

When I wake up, I am instantly aware of the sunlight trying to come in through the window, the delicate smell of flowers in bloom, and the warmth. I stroke Buttercup´s fur, he´s still lying beside me, wide awake, like he always does in the mornings. He always waits for me to be awake to jump off the bed. He doesn´t like anyone coming close to bed when I am sleeping.

I should be worried, and I know that, but I couldn´t get him to break the habit. Katniss tried to come wake me once, and she ended up with his claws scratching her hand. She didn´t give him food that day, which made him be even grumpier. That´s why I tried to get him to sleep on the floor, on top of an old mat. He ended up being even more protective of me. I don´t really mind, it´s very comforting to have him in bed with me. And anyway, I sleep a little extra on the weekends because of him.

I slowly get up, tired. I look over to the other side of the bed, and notice Mom is gone. She is already up and cooking breakfast. Squirrel maybe. With goat cheese, carrot and lettuce….

I lazily make my bed. I start cleaning the room, carefully putting everything in its drawer. I go outside, and grab a damp piece of cloth hanging from a thin wire beside the door. I start gently rubbing the pair of wooden little tables, and the low chair, where I usually do my school work. I walk out of the room, knowing I'm done with my morning chores.

I decide to go visit Rory, it´s also his first year. I walk for a few minutes before I get to his house. It´s just like mine. Small, simple, and colorless. Rory is Gale´s brother. We are at the same year in school, and Gale and Katniss are best friends, so we pretty much ended up stuck together after Dad died, their father being in the same accident as ours.

I could consider him my best friend. We do homework together, and pretty much end up making teams at school. I´ve never had a lot of friends at school apart from Rory, his younger brother Vick, and Dahlia.

I carefully knock on the door. No one answers. I hadn´t considered the fact that it´s considerably early in the morning, and none of them might be awake. Except, maybe Gale. He must be in the woods by now. I knock again, a little louder, and the door swings open.

A slim, short woman stands on the other side of it. Her gray eyes look down at me sweetly, while her dark but messy hair is harshly being combed by the little girl she has on her arms.

"Prim! Isn´t it too early? You should be getting ready!"

"Hey Hazelle. Is Rory up? I wanted to bring you some…goat cheese?" I say handing out the little package I had saved in my pocket.

"Oh! Are you sure? Won´t you need it later?" She says hesitantly.

"Not really. Lady has been giving a lot of milk lately, so I´ve been handing some of the cheese around, you know. It´ll get bad anyway." I say, trying not to make it seem important.

"Ok then. And yes, Rory is inside, eating some breakfast." She says as she walks into the small kitchen, putting the cheese on the counter. I step in, looking around for a while. A small wooden table with five chairs that don´t match sit in one corner of the small room, two boys eating.

"Who was that Mum?" The smallest one asks. I look at Hazelle, putting a finger to my lips as I walk up slowly to the table.

"HEY, GUYS!" I yell at the top of my lungs. Rory jumps in his seat with a yelp, while Vick, who was rocking his char in its back legs loses his balance and falls backwards. I explode in laughter, watching him trying to get up. After a while Rory and I help him up, still laughing at his expression. "Are you all right?" I ask, trying to catch my breath. He looks at me, angry I suppose.

"All right?" He asks me. "What was that for?" He demands, sitting again. "For fun?" I say, rolling my eyes at him. "_That_ was not fun." Vick snaps taking a bite from a piece of bread. Rory laughs, a short, but certainly mocking laugh.

"It kind of was, Vicky…"

"_Don´t_ call me Vicky! Just because I´m younger, it doesn´t mean you can…"

"BOYS!" Hazelle says, a look of disapproval dominating her eyes.

"Sorry Mum!" We answer in practiced unison, making Hazelle laugh.

"So… what´s wrong Prim?" Vick asks.

"Well, I really don´t know what´s wrong. It´s just that it's our _first_ reaping… Nothing special really…"

"Right, right. But it looks like you´re sad."

"I´ll volunteer to save you!" Rory exclaims, a sarcastic smile stuck on his face. Just then, a door opens, and Gale comes in.

"Prim?" He asks, stopping himself at the entrance. "What are you doing here?" His eyes are full of concern.

"There´s nothing wrong, just came to visit and bring some goat cheese." I say, nodding towards Hazelle.

"More?" His tone is surprised. "I thought you had already given Katniss some this morning. It was great, by the way."

"Well, I´m glad there´s a lot to share with everyone." Hazelle says. "Shouldn´t you be heading home? You have to get ready."

"Oh!" I say. "Katniss must be getting home now. Bye then!" I say, rushing out the door.

There is a tub of boiled water waiting for me. I get in, careful not to slip. I scrub myself down slowly, wishing to slow down this afternoon´s event. It´s no use though, the reaping will come anyway. The reaping. They could pick me, or even worse, Katniss. I force myself to hurry, It´s obligatory to go to the reaping. Unless of course, you are seriously injured, or about to die. They wouldn´t want an injured tribute. They want death, drama, battles. Or 'fun' as people in the Capitol call it.

When I get out, I find laid out on the bed, a skirt with a ruffled blouse. Katniss´s first reaping clothes. I dry myself with the piece of cloth we use as a towel. I try the skirt on, it fits perfectly. As for the blouse… that´s going to be a problem, it´s too big.

"It's too big," I call to my mother. She sighs, and quickly comes in the room.

"That's alright, I´ll secure it with some pins," she replies walking over to me. She reaches down into a drawer and pulls them out.

"Thank you," I mumble. Mom fastens on the pins, and manages to get everything in place, but a piece at the back just won't stay. She gives in after a few minutes. She goes outside, to get ready herself.

I carefully tuck my hair into my usual pair of Dutch-Braids.

Both of us are ready to go pretty fast, since there is none of the exaggerated makeup, or the colorful Capitol wigs in the Districts, no reason to be excessive. That´s what would be normal in the streets of the Capitol.

I _can't_ stop thinking about how likely it is for Katniss´ name to be picked out. I know that my name is in there only once. She says it´s very, very unlikely I will get picked, but I am still worried. One out of thousands. But anyone would rather have none.

How many times has a twelve year old´s name come out of the reaping ball? Four which I remember, three which I wasn´t old enough to be conscious of, and about thirty before I was born. None of them won, of course.

What brings me some comfort, is that all of them were an old victor´s child, which I am not, or that they had more than five slips.

Something unfair, really. If you´re poor, dying of hunger, you can put your name in the ball more times for a tesserae. Every tesserae is worth a year´s ration of cereals and oil for one person. So you get food, but have more probabilities to get chosen, and die.

And then, you are also allowed to do that for each member of your family, a package for each, one more slip for you. Katniss does that every year. But slips accumulate.

So now, at sixteen, if I´m not wrong, her name is in there about twenty times. Gale, at eighteen, having asked for packages since he was twelve for a family of five, has about forty three.

She didn´t let me sign up for packages, so I don´t have extra slips.

A few minutes later, Katniss arrives. She goes in the bathroom, washes herself in the tub, and gets changed. She doesn´t look comfortable. I walk over to her.

"You look pretty." I say, trying to make her feel better.

"And nothing like myself," Katniss says. She hugs me, and I hug her back.

"Tuck your tail in, little duck," she says as she fixes it. I giggle and give her a "Quack."

"Quack yourself," She says laughing.

"Come on, let's eat," She says before giving me a kiss on the head.

For breakfast we have my goat Lady´s milk and some bread made from the tesserae.

I have a very hard time swallowing my food. I am too nervous. I try my hardest not to cry, because Katniss would worry, and I don´t want her to. She has her name in so many times. She has enough to think about.

I somehow manage to finish eating, without one single tear.

We go to the square at one o'clock. It is a big place, and with all the people, the cameras and the stage, it´s crowded. Everyone signs in, and then walks into their places. They separate us by age, so I can´t be with Katniss. I am at the back which makes me feel safer, further away from the stage, where the people that can cause you definite death are. All friends and family are sitting around, holding hands.

Up on the stage are three chairs, and two glass balls. Filling the first chair is Effie Trinket, District Twelve´s companion, but still, a very strange looking woman, since she dresses weird like the other Capitol people do. A light pink wig, a green suit, and lots of makeup. Filling the second is Mayor Undersee, a tall, serious-looking bald man. They are talking, looking nervously at the third chair.

At two o'clock Mayor Undersee walks up to the podium. He gives the same speech he gives every year. He talks to us about the hunger games, about why we are here.

He tells us how we are a country that formed from the ashes together. He lists the disasters, the earthquakes, the lightning, the fallen cities, the fires, the storms, and the massive seas that swallowed up much of what used to be called North America. The war that formed afterwards, because of the small amount of shelter, food, and drinkable water.

The result was Panem, a Capitol ringed by thirteen districts. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of all the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth blown up.

The ´Treaty of Treason´ then gave us new rules to keep peace. As a yearly reminder of the Dark Days, and that they shouldn´t happen again, they also gave us the Hunger Games

The rules aren't really that many. Each district must give one girl and one boy from the age of twelve to eighteen, to enter the hunger games. These kids are called tributes. They are then put in an outdoor area, called the arena, to fight to the death until only one is alive. That's the scary bit. If you win, you become a victor, and they move you into the Victor´s Village. You then become rich and famous. After the victory tour, they make you a mentor for the future tributes.

No matter what they say, their intentions are clear. 'Look at how we take you, chew you, and then spit you out. We can make you kill each other, because we are in charge of this country. And if you ever try to do something about it, well, it´s your neck, not ours.´

And apart from that we have to take it as a celebration, a competition between the districts. They give the winning district Package Day every month for a year, in which everyone there eats well.

I look towards the glass ball. What if Effie Trinket picks one of us?

Then the Mayor reads out the list of District twelve victors. This doesn´t take a long time though, because in seventy four years, there have only been two.

The only one alive he is called Haymitch Abernathy. He is always drunk though. Around about the moment his name is called he walks up and onto the stage. He falls into a chair filling the third one.

Applause goes on for less than a minute, and Haymitch, who looks stunned, gives Effie a big hug, from which she can barely get out of.

The Mayor then her calls over. Effie walks over to the glass ball looking very happy, it is almost disturbing. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever_in your favor." She says in her weird Capitol accent.

I swallow hard and feel myself starting to sweat. My knees and hands tremble. I keep my knees locked tight, and my arms pressed against my sides, so the shaking won´t be so obvious.

She starts talking about how honored she is to be here, but I know she probably doesn't want to. I bet she would like to be in any other district, she would prefer a 'better district'. I´m not surprised, twelve is the poorest.

"Ladies first," she says. I have butterflies in my stomach. My breathing is becoming rapid.

Effie puts her hand in the glass ball. Everyone is silent. She pulls out a slip and waves it in the air, a smile playing on her lips. She goes back over to the podium and smoothes it out.

She reads out the name

"Primrose Everdeen."


	2. Volunteers

NOTE: I know this is a pretty short chapter, but I really want to keep it exiting. Guess what? I GOT MY FIRST REVIEW! It´s sooooo exiting! I really need to mention this person. Faith! She wrote the first fanfic I ever read. (Here´s the place where I love you) I really think of her as my inspiration. 33 Thanks Faith!

So... Here´s Chapter 2.

2

Volunteers

I walk backwards, shocked. I want to run away. Away from these people that can hurt me. Away from the games. Away from that slip of paper, that has my name on it. I take a couple of steps forward. Everyone is watching me.

"Come on dear, that's the way," Effie says. Tears fill my eyes and I clench my fists. I hear the crowd´s murmurs of disapproval. They don´t like that I am only twelve.

"Prim!" I hear Katniss call. "Prim!" she calls again. "Prim! No! Prim!" she frantically yells. I turn around and see her fighting, pushing against the Peacekeepers. They hold her back with ease. She raises her hand, slapping a Peacekeeper´s face.

"Prim! Prim! No!" She calls again. She opens her mouth once more, as if to say something. "I..." she starts. The now red-faced Peacekeeper knocks her out, before she could finish. I can see Gale helping her up as I walk onto the stage. I start to cry now.

Katniss retakes her place, her features twisted into a furious but sad look. I´ve seen that look only once on her beautiful features. Around five years ago, at Dad´s funeral. She is trying not to cry.

"Well, what a drama that was. I bet my hat that was your sister." says Effie.

"Yes it was," I say, my voice shaking. I search the crowd for my mom. She is sad too.

"A round of applause for our newest tribute, Primrose Everdeen!" Effie exclaims. The crowd looks at each other for a while, and then they all start lightly clapping, then louder, until the whole place is filled with a very loud and unexpected noise. They stop as soon as they start.

"I like her!" His breath smells of liquor and it's been a long time since he's taken a shower. "Lots of. . ." He says holding on to my shoulders. "Spunk!" he says triumphantly. "More than you!" He releases me and walks towards the front of the stage. "More than you!" he shouts, pointing directly into a camera.

I don´t exactly know what he means. Is he addressing the audience? Or is he drunk enough to be taunting the Capitol? I don´t know witch, but I hope it doesn´t get him in trouble. I'll never know, because just as he's opening his mouth to continue, He falls off the stage and knocks himself unconscious. He might be disgusting, but I need him to help me.

He is walked over to a building by a pair of peacekeepers. Effie Trinket looks worried in his direction. This must be embarrassing. "What an exciting day!" she says as she attempts to straighten her wig, which has fallen to the right. "But more excitement to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!"

She walks over to the boy's glass ball.

She dips her hand in the ball, all the way to the bottom. She walks back and smoothes the small slip. The relief on every girl´s face, and the worry on every boy's is disturbing.

"Peeta Mellark," she calls out.

Everyone seems to make a trail way for this boy. They take a step aside from Peeta Mellark, look relieved. He looks surprised. He slowly makes his way to the stage. I believe he´s about sixteen. He isn't that tall, but seems to be pretty strong. He has blond hair and blue eyes, like me. His expression is also contorted, the alarm clear in his eyes.

Effie asks for volunteers. Two very familiar voices shout: "I volunteer as tribute!" I search the crowd for any signs of them. Gale and Rory look at each other, stunned. The crowd has held their breath, waiting.

"Um…" Effie says. "Well, I believe we have two volunteers! Mayor Undersee…" She calls, looking worried. I look at them. Why did they volunteer? What is wrong with them? Isn´t it enough for me to go and die? Why them? Rory catches my gaze, giving me a sad smile. Gale grabs him by the shoulder and starts talking to him, his face wild. I barely catch his words before Rory raises his voice.

"She´s my best friend! What did you expect me to do?! Sit there and just watch?" Rory shouts looking just as angry as his brother. "I´ll go!"

"You´d have no chance! I just can´t let you! You´re my brother!" At this statement the whole crowd gasps, looks of horror in their faces. They keep shouting at each other, shooting death stares all around.

"Um…" Mayor Undersee says hesitantly. "We can´t have you both go, so…" He looks around, his face red. "I think we should play the tape to see who volunteered first, and then we´ll see who gets to go. There´s no need to fight." He says.

The large screen goes on, and the tape plays. I gasp. They move very slowly, and they both shout: "I volunteer as tribute!" The crowd looks confused now. They whisper.

"Again, but slower." Says the Mayor. The tape plays again, even slower. Rory opens his mouth about a second before Gale, who was distracted looking at Rory, suspicious. They end the phrase at the same time.

"The youngest said it first!" Effie exclaims, her excitement very clear. Gale grits his teeth, looking over at me. He looks away as soon as he realizes I am looking at him too. He volunteered to save his brother. He _knew_ Rory was going to volunteer for me. He noticed right before they both said those devastating words.

I look back to the screen, which is focused on the four of us. A square on the right top corner shows my face. It´s evident that I´m crying. My shoulders shake up and down violently, timed perfectly with the sobs coming from my throat. Gale, on the bottom right has the same frown that I´ve always seen plastered on his forehead. Rory´s face is absolutely red. He looks at me, offering a sad smile.

Up until now, I had totally forgotten about Peeta, who is looking at the screen, confused. Rory walks up to the stage in long, very secure steps. Peeta looks at him, baffled, and then looks at me. He clasps a hand on Peeta´s shoulder, making him step aside. Rory walks over to stand beside me, and I look at him, tears in my eyes.

"Why?" I whisper though gritted teeth. He looks at me sadly.

"I had to" He says, his voice breaking. "Sorry." He looks down at his hands.

"What´s your name darling?" Effie asks him, shoving the microphone in his face.

"Rory. Rory Hawthorne."

"Excellent! This year´s tributes from District 12! Primrose Everdeen, and Rory Hawthorne!" exclaims Effie Trinket. She motions us to shake hands. We do so, we have to. Rory gives me another smile, with an 'I'm sorry' look on his face.

There is only one thing I know for sure. The odds are not in my favor.


End file.
